Sunday, February 28, 2010

Please Touch Museum

And by please touch, they mean EVERYTHING. We had an absolute ball there today! Skipped nap altogether and stayed all day. Ruby was so good. There was so much to see and do that she never minded when we had to leave a display. It was so much fun that words can't even describe it. Such a cool place and Ruby just loved everything. Jeff & I did too! She loves carousels so that was a hit, for sure. She liked to hop on the lily pads that made frog sounds. She LOVED the huge water tables and had a blast in the big grocery store area complete with carts and several aisles of food to put in your cart. Another little girl (playing) was all to happy to "ring her up" at the cash register when she was done "shopping". What a genius idea and how fun the whole place is! Ruby was so thrilled and smiley all day. At lunch she just stopped at one point and said, "Thank you, Mommy! Thank you Pa!" It was magic.

Her favorite thing had to be the band. It's jazz month and they had a great 1o piece band made up of kids from a local school. Everyone was gathered on the floor watching. Well, Ruby was one of the first kids to get up and dance. She kept inching her way up closer and closer to the front until she was standing next to the conductor for the last song mimicking his movements. It was so sweet and funny that I was cracking up. And HOW she loves music. And jazz, no less! By the end all the kids were up dancing, people were laughing and smiling and no one minded these little ones exercising their creative spirit and enjoying the music.

I was near tears several times just watching her light up at this or that during the day. However, I nearly peed my pants holding back the tears at the end of our visit. We were in the Children's Hospital section where they have beds and cribs set up and lots of babies to play with. Ruby was in heaven. She grabbed a couple baby boy dolls and played with them a long time. She would run them back and forth from the exam table to the crib and then out again. She laid the blanket on them then took it off. Finally, she saw another girl changing a diaper and wanted to do it. So I went to help her and low and behold the thing is anatomically correct. Of COURSE she grabbed it's little winker immediately and looked at Mommy excitedly for an explanation. (Gee, I didn't think we'd be having this talk so soon and not in the middle of a crowded Please Touch Museum!) LOL. So she looks at me quizzically and says "heiney"? I missed a beat while tossing around in my head if I should say penis or not. I could so see her walking around saying Penis! Penis! SO... (stifling a silly fit of laughter) I said, no, honey, that's his pee-pee. She said "PEE-PEE!" and actually played with it awhile. Then she carried it over to center of the room, set him on the floor and grabbed it again. Pleased with her new discovery, she picked him up and attempted to carry the naked thing out of the display and take him home with us. LOL! Thank God for the shoe display in the next section! I don't know if it was just the punch drunk euphoria I was feeling from sentiment, lack of sleep, and an after lunch crash (combined with sensory overload) but I found this extremely funny and had to show great restraint to keep a straight face. Now don't get me wrong. I have no issue with calling body parts by their actual names, but this one really caught me off guard. When they call it the "please touch" museum I didn't realize that could mean anything!

Seriously, though, it's a great museum and a wonderful place to go with the family. I remember once again, why I love cities so much. So modern and every convenience. This place has it all together. They had organic, natural, and healthy snacks and lunch. No french fries and junk food as your only choices. Hooray! It was clean and so well run. On a weekend! Everything you can imagine for your kids to learn and see and touch (hee hee) was there. We are all tired, but it was such a wonderful time. Really, a great experience!

June 20, 2008 - Dossier received in Thailand. JUNE 19, 2008 - WACAP called to say we were going to be matched with our girl!

MAY 13, 2008 - Completed dossier rec'd by Wacap from Thai Embassy in Washington, DC. Now ready to go to Thailand. Also received the file today with pic and basic medical info on the Waiting child we are hoping is our daughter!